


The Light Of Asphodel

by scizzors



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Dick Jokes, Epic quests, Multi, There will be death, You Have Been Warned, some side romance to develope later, tags to update with chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-08 23:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4324305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scizzors/pseuds/scizzors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The king and sun with luck descend,<br/>To face their parents punishments.</p><p>A smothered flame to reignite,<br/>And hold the map to dawning light.</p><p>Three will die, one death repaid <br/>In asphodel a hero stays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nico

Chapter 1  
~Nico~

It had been the same dream for two weeks straight, which wasn't a foreign concept to Nico di Angelo. He had often dreamt the same visions over and over preceding an epic quest, but ever since returning from Europe and simultaneously ending the end of the world, he had assumed these premonitions would end.

He had assumed incorrectly.

What enraged him more than the idea that danger may be in his future--again--was the monotony of the dream. He started in a dark cave, carefully picking his way through the void as if avoiding booby traps left and right. Then he heard someone croak his name from the shadows behind him. But just as the dream had panned out every other time since summer began, he would whip around to seek out the assailant, simply to find himself in the Fields of Asphodel. As he pushed his way through lost hapless souls, he saw a bright light in the direction of his father's palace, which was odd, considering his father dwelt in darkness nearly 24/7. And just as he was about to set out towards the source of the light, everything went black. He would feel like he was floating in the endless dark, until, from the very periphery of his hearing, a faint whistling sound would commence. He recognized the sound from countless battles and countless times training with the Apollo cabin. And even now, the fourteenth time having the dream, he felt a pinpoint of dread in his gut as he heard the arrow spiraling closer and closer towards him. And just as he would brace himself for impact--

A violent knock that shook his cabin on its very foundation woke Nico before the thwump of the arrow could. He rubbed his eyes to try and remove the last remnants of the dream from his foggy vision. Then the knocking picked back up, and he sprang from his bed, a mess of limbs and annoyance.

"Niiico!!!" The assailant felt the need to make her obnoxious presence known, despite the fact that Nico could recognize who it was based on the pit of dread that filled his gut. 

"What, Souri?" he snapped, tumbling towards the door and whipping it open. The girl's cocky smile was enough to blind him without the help of the blazing sun behind her. Nico had taken to sleeping through breakfast, and found his eastern-facing cabin constantly getting bombarded with obnoxious sunlight. Even more obnoxious than the sun was Souri Paknejad, who was currently blotting it out as she stood akimbo, beaming impishly from behind her sharp eyebrows and hawklike nose. 

"Your girl's been askin for ya," she grinned wider, if that was possible, and nudged Nico in the chest. Nico did not stumble backwards at the blow. 

"My 'girl'?" He asked, unamused. Souri was just one of those people he didn't care to start his day out with. Or end his day with. Or spend it with. 

"Reneyney, or something," Souri said cooly, brushing her exceedingly long hair over her shoulder like it was a thing to do. "She's been chattin with Chiron, and she's been askin for you by name." Souri grinned, her tongue in her teeth as she poked Nico some more. "Didn't know you were such a lady's man, di!" 

"Okay 1. Don't call me di. and 2. what's this about Reyna?" Nico groaned, running his hand through his hair. It was swishing up every which way, acquiring its true batwing form. He despised it. 

Souri shrugged. "Hell if I know. I was walkin past the Big House when Annabeth asked if I could get you for Chiron. The big man requires your presence--as does your princess of the night!"

"...Literally, shut up."

"Love you too, di. Now go! Your princess awaits!" She wiggled her fingers around as she chanted a chorus of ooohs, scampering off his steps and waving, her hair whipping out in a trail of midnight behind her. She was a very odd girl, that one.

"Gods," he scoffed, slamming the door behind him as he turned on his heel to face the cabin. 

True to his promise he had redecorated his cabin to achieve a less dismal but still gothic tone. The coffin beds were replaced with twin sized beds encompassed in a dark cherry-red stained wooden frame. The comforters were a simple black complimented by light charcoal sheets and the pillows were a boring white. Nothing special. The only exception was Nico's bed.

After Jason and Percy had found out about Nico's birthday, despite his attempts to keep it quiet, they had thrown him a small 15th birthday party with just the crew. As a result, he now found himself in possession of Mythomagic bed sheets and a pillow case to match. Despite the fact that he was totally over that kids' game, he figured that it would be stupid to not make use of perfectly good sheets. Besides, no one ever came or looked in the Hades cabin anyway. But just to ensure his privacy, Nico closed his maroon drapes (which were totally different than the red drapes, he assured himself,) before changing into his clothes for the day.

~~~

Nico normally strolled leisurely through camp when he made the effort to move about. He would've been scheduled to partake in archery classes and weapon building sessions like the other campers, but judging from his experience, Chiron had decided Nico could simply decide what to do and when. However, today Nico didn't take the time to poke his head into the arena to give swordplay advice, or visit the infirmary to cut bandages. Today, he sprinted to the Big House like a madman, arms flailing as he ran. As much as he was glad to hear from his dear friend, no news was good news when it came to Reyna, so he was slightly nervous.

He skidded to a halt as he approached the steps, dusting off his t-shirt to feign tidiness. There was something about the Big House that made him feel inferior, probably because it had been inhabited by so many greats before him. Plus, he and Chiron had only recently come to terms with each other. He didn't want to look like a panting, dusty slob.

As he crept into the main room, he saw Chiron in his full centaur form, facing away from the door as he murmured to an apparition close to the fireplace. Annabeth was leaning against the wall next to the doorway, and shot Nico a small smile as he entered. She looked tired, like she'd heard a lot and dealt with a lot, like a billion thoughts were swirling around her mind at once. To be fair, all of those things were true, but today she simply looked beat. 

"Chiron, he's here," she called quietly to the teacher she'd known for 11 years, a number that never ceased to baffle Nico. Hard to believe she would be heading off to college in New Rome within a few months and leaving him after all those years. 

The ancient centaur turned slowly to face Nico. Chiron had aged horribly the last few years, but with all threats finally dissipating, he'd begun to regain his youthful glimmer of excitement to teach and train. However, his old worry lines were starting to crinkle back into his immortal features, something Nico really did not like to see. 

"Is Reyna okay?" Nico piped up before Chiron could say a word, pushing towards him. 

"Yes. I'm fine Nico." Hearing her voice sent a wave of calm through his body and he felt his muscles relax. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and walked over to stand next to Chiron. 

Reyna was clear as day and beautiful as ever. That being said, the faint worry lines etched into her forehead and the bags under her eyes didn't go unnoticed. Nico scrunched up his own face in confusion, partially trying to mask his concern.

"What happened...?" He was almost reluctant to ask. 

"There's been..." Reyna hesitated, trying to formulate an answer. "...well, there's been a development of sorts." Her backwards, dismissive way of answering the question only furthered Nico's apprehension.

Before he could pry, however, Annabeth spoke. "What Reyna means to say, is there's been another prophecy."

Nico whipped his head around to look at her. "No, that's impossible. The Spirit of Delphi hasn't been working for almost a full year now. You can ask Will; there's been nothing from Apollo since the war."

"Until now."

Nico turned back to stare at Reyna. He was waiting for them all to raise up their hands and yell, "surprise!" They'd have a laugh and move on. Souri was in on it too, no doubt.

But no. The three of them all looked at him with grave reality etched into their faces. "You will remember Ella came back to New Rome with us, to see if she couldn't help reconstruct the Sibylline Books." Nico nodded stiffly. He really did not like the direction this was going in. 

Reyna sighed. "Well, in the process, she managed to recall a part of a prophecy that had been torn out of the book. It's short, but it's pertinent, and it concerns what's been going on post-Gaea." Reyna continued, looking to Chiron to ensure she was saying everything correctly, "...and we think it will come to pass within the week."

An anvil of steel cold dread dropped into Nico's stomach as he placed a hand to his forehead, trying to steady his thoughts. 

"But...what does it...who is it--"

"We're sending escorts to accompany Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Ella back to Camp Half Blood to break the news. I will be a member of the party. I promise you Nico, it will all be explained in time. Wait until this evening." 

"You'll be here that soon? How far out are you?"

"Um.... hold on." Reyna looked away from the Iris Message. "Hazel, what does the GPS say?"

"Hazel's there?" Nico raised an eyebrow, but Reyna held up a finger to shush him as she listened to his sister. He thought he heard her ask what the GPS was, and cracked a hint of a smile when his suspicions were confirmed by Reyna's response.

"It's the box on the windshield with the map that's been giving us directions." Hazel must have figured it out because Reyna turned back to him with a nod of thanks in Hazel's direction. "We should be there before dinner; and yes, Hazel is here. She insisted on coming."

Nico just nodded, letting her know he got the message. It had been over a month since he had last seen his sister. It was hard to find time to visit her now that she was Centurion of the thirteenth regime. 

Nico frowned in thought. As soon as he had found out that there was a prophecy, something had begun to nag at him. "So why not contact Percy or Jason about this? They're the golden boys of questing."

"Look," Reyna said, ignoring his snark, "we'll talk more upon our arrival. If we keep standing with this hose for much longer, we will more than likely draw unwanted attention. See you soon."

The image faded and Chiron swiped his hand through the mist to dissipate it. He grimly turned to face Nico, willing a smile onto his face.

"Don't dwell on it too much, my boy. Go busy yourself until dinner; we have until then to be jovial."

And with that, Nico was excused and sent out of the Big House, just as the swirling thoughts regarding this potential quest began to bombard his mind.

~~~


	2. Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil and Will are fuggin gross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ******* Sorry it's been so long! We have no excuse other than lack of motivation and laziness but the new book sparked our imaginations again and we are back on. After reading over this again with a fresh pair of eyes we decided to edit some of the dialog. Give it a look and tell us what u think. Chapter three to be posted some time this week.

Chapter 2  
~~Will~~

 

It had been an abnormally quiet day in the infirmary, Will noted. Even on slow days when there were no serious injuries, there was always a procession of younger campers coming in complaining about belly aches or booboos. That was a given. Will would always be prepared to give them either a can of ginger ale to make their stomachs feel better, or a kiss and a bandaid to fix their bumps and scrapes. But today, Will had yet to receive a single patient, and it was already past noon. It was a new record. He knew he should be happy. After all, it was a good thing that no one was hurt, but he was having trouble seeing the bright side of crushing inactivity. 

To fight off the bouts of boredom, Will had taken to leaning back in his chair with his feet on his desk, and throwing balled up paper into the garbage basket situated by the door. So far, he had gotten 4 out of 9 in, which was pretty pathetic for a child of Apollo. He ripped up another sheet of yellow lined paper off the notepad on his desk and crumpled it up to take aim. His tongue poked out of his lips a bit in concentration and just as he was about throw it-

"Don't miss!!" Cecil's voice rang out next to him at an alarming volume. 

Will flinched, and the two watched as the wadded paper ball bounced off the rim of the basket and onto the floor to join many of its brothers and sisters. 

Will turned his head to glare at Cecil only to be met by a smirk. "Dude, you suck," Will sniped. "That so would have went in." 

"No, you suck!" Cecil countered. "I thought you were a son of Apollo. Aren't you supposed to be good at aiming?" Cecil tore off another sheet of paper from Will's notepad, wadded it up, then threw it. It landed in the basket. "That's 5 for me, 4 for you. I win." 

Will rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's only 'cause I didn't cheat, unlike someone I know who's sitting next to me. Play again?" Will crumpled up another sheet. 

Cecil shrugged. "Sure, but the outcome is going to be the same. And by the way, I'm not cheating either."

Will raised an eyebrow. "How is yelling every time I go to throw it not cheating?" he demanded, lining up his shot.

"Because the rules never said anything against it." Cecil shrugged. "I'm just using the gifts I was born with."

"Yeah, like your big mouth." Will countered with a smirk as he aimed at the target. He threw the paper, and it landed in the basket. "Ooooh!" he threw his hands up and spun around in his chair in triumph. "That's one out of one." He skidded his spin to a stop to face Cecil. "You know, I've made 100 percent of my shots this round." 

Cecil snorted in amusement and dismissed Will's excitement in favor of addressing his first comment. "Hey, you wish you had this big mouth." 

Will shook his head, his smile still in place. "Why? So I can catch flies when I sleep?" 

"Nope," Cecil's cheshire grin made Will's smile fall when he realized he had walked into something. "Because I don't have a gag reflex."

They stared at each other, Cecil with his grin plastered on his face and Will trying and failing to keep a blank expression before he snorted and they burst out laughing. "Oh my gods dude, shut up," Will managed to get out between his laughs. He grabbed the notepad and shoved it into Cecil's hands. "Your turn." 

"Quick to dismiss the topic, I see." Cecil teased, but nevertheless tore off another piece of paper and crumpled it up.

Just as he was about to throw it, the door to the infirmary opened and Lou Ellen walked in carrying a bag. Cecil threw the paper anyway, and Will watched in amusement as it bounced off her shoulder. 

He leaned over to Cecil and whispered "Missed," as Lou Ellen processed what happened. 

"Wow Cecil, thanks. I can see how hard you're working," she gestured to the empty beds. "So I thought I would be a nice person and bring you guys a snack; guess you don't need one after all." She turned around to walk out. 

"No, wait, Cecil's sorry--aren't you Cecil?" There was an edge to Will's voice that told Cecil if he didn't apologize, something bad would happen. 

Cecil quickly nodded. "Yeah, totally. What'd you bring?"

Lou Ellen pivoted on her foot and faced the boys again. "Why am I friend with you guys?" She smirked as she took the satchel off her shoulder and dug through it. 

"Cause you love us?" Will shrugged, smiling. "Please tell me you brought us bananas."

Cecil barked out a laugh and Lou Ellen paused in her search. "No...? Why? Should I have?" She looked up at the two, Will making an attempt to look innocent and Cecil trying to stifle his chuckle. Realization flooded her features. "Oh my gods, you guys wanted to practice deep throating, didn't you?" She couldn't help but crack a smile.

"What?" Will feigned horror. "Us? Never. How could you think such a thing?"

"Yeah Lou, I didn't know you thought so low of us. I'm hurt," Cecil joined in.

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes and pulled three oranges out of the bag. She tossed two of them to Cecil and Will respectively and started peeling her own. "Oh please, almost every conversation you two have end up being about dicks or boobs. Not that far of a leap."

"Not like you're any different," Cecil pointed out. 

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Never said I was."

"Touché." Cecil conceded, passing his orange over to Will who was already done peeling his own and had popped a slice in his mouth. "Can you peel this for me?" Will took the orange and nodded. He made quick work as the room fell into silence. 

"What are you guys still doing here anyway?" Lou asked as she threw away her peel and took a seat on the bed closest to the door.

Will finished peeling Cecil's orange and handed it back to him. He swallowed what he was eating and peeled off another piece. "What do you mean?" He asked, popping the piece in his mouth.

Lou Ellen swept her eyes over the room, and then looked back to Will, eyebrow raised. "...No one's here, genius. There is literally no point in staying when it's hot as balls in here."

Will popped another piece of orange into his mouth, chewing it contemplatively. He could say he just wanted to hang around in case someone did indeed get injured. He could say he was having a good time throwing paper at a bucket. Or he could tell the truth and say he was waiting for Nico's daily visit. But they would make fun of him for the latter option. 

Before Will could say anything, Cecil took the initiative to answer for him. "He's waiting for Nico."

Will gasped, turning to smack Cecil in the chest. "What! I so am not!"

Cecil shot him a look, grinning cheekily. "No shame, man. That kid's in here almost everyday. Must be a habit at this point." 

It was true; ever since Nico's three day stay the summer before, Will's friend (he assumed friend was the correct word) would stick his head in the door, bringing a shadow into the otherwise sunny place, asking if he could do something to help out. Nico spent so much time in the infirmary, in fact, that he would help run the place during the school year when Will went home to Virginia. (Percy and Jason did not miss the irony of a son of Hades running the place of healing).

"Last time I checked, this "kid" could knock you on your ass in two seconds flat," came a mocking voice from the doorway. Will chuckled brightly, perking up at the sound of Nico's voice. He was the only one to do so.

Lou Ellen shot Will a careful smirk before turning her eyes to Nico. "Speak of the--" she tripped on the last word.

"Devil...--ishly handsome gentleman!" Cecil spluttered, catching the mistake too late. 

Nico didn't look terribly offended; he just raised an eyebrow at the two of them before turning to Will with a blank face. "Solace, can I talk to you?"

Will's stomach seemed to fill with acid as he swallowed. He never liked it when people started a conversation like that. Even when it was his friend(?) talking.

"Sure thing, man," he replied, standing and pushing the rolly chair to Lou Ellen, who eagerly jumped on it and rushed at Cecil as the two left.  
Nico took a few steps before sitting down on the front steps sighing despondently. Will dusted off his scrubs as he sat next to him, concern quickly replacing his apprehension. "...you're not offended that Lou and Cecil are so jumpy around you, right?" he asked nervously, his mind jumping to the first conclusion he could reach. "I know they come across as scared, but really they're just awkward little shits, and--"

"I could care less how people act around me," Nico dismissed the subject and delivered the line so nonchalantly that Will was almost inclined to believe him. 

Nico pushing his hair out of his eyes and Will noted that it was looking especially batwing-like that day. He was always entertained by that. 

"Then...what's the matter?" 

Nico leaned back and staring at the sky, which, as always, was bright blue and cloudless. Quite the contrary to the current vibe Will was getting from him. It seems as though he was having an internal battle.

"The Romans are heading over," Nico finally began. "Something about a new quest." 

Will almost winced, but internalized it so as not to appear shaken. One of the first rules of working with a patient was to mask all trepidation. "Well, it can't be the end of the world, can it? We dealt with that last year!" He smiled, trying to brighten the mood. 

Though Will had known the son of Hades for almost a year now he had yet to make Nico smile. He quickly realized today would not be the day that changed. Instead the air seemed to cool by a degree or ten. "I know, it's not terrible or anything, probably something about a God losing their shoe and needing some poor demigod to find it and return it."

Wills eyebrows knit. He was not fallowing. "So what's the problem?"

"Who said there was a problem?" Nico's counter bordered on being suspiciously too quick. 

Will rolled his eyes and let out a little annoyed snort to which Nico responded with a thoughtful "What?" 

"I'm not stupid you know." Will explained. "I may not be an Athena kid or a child of Aphrodite but over the past year I've known to read you pretty well. Something's bothering you."

At his words Will could see Nico put up a mental barrier and he swore internally. That is not what he intended to do. "Nico, man, come on. Just spit it out. You obviously came her for a reason." He could see the smaller boy clench his jaw and he thought that was it. Once again Nico would reach out for help then run away before he could retrieve it. But to his surprise he instead let out a sigh and began to talk. 

"Just thought Gaia would be the end of it. Wasn't two wars enough?" 

Will sat back on the heel of his hand to be level with Nico. "There was a new prophecy every year starting when Percy showed up. Stuff like that happens when there's powerful people around."

"And the powerful people are the ones who end up on the quest." Nico shot back. He started tracing patterns in the thin layer of dirt that covered the stairs and walkway.

Will raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried you're going to get chosen for it?" Nico didn't respond. Will sighed. "You've been a part of how many quests? Don't you think you deserve a break?"

Will was tempted to place a hand on Nico's shoulder to comfort him, but despite the year of being at Camp Half Blood, Nico was still jumpy when it came to physical contact unless it was from his sister... or that girl Reyna (Will still wondered about that). He settled for looking up at the sky. It was a nice day at least. 

There was a moment of silence before Nico responded. "It doesn't matter if I deserve it or not. And technically speaking i've never been on a quest. Always an extra."

Will scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. He sat back up fully and gave Nico a funny look. "What do you mean?"

Nico shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind." He then nodded at Will's lap, which reminded Will of the orange he had brought out to finish. "Can I have some?"

Will nodded in reply, not ignoring Nico's swift change in the subject, but not addressing it either. Though Will considered Nico to be a friend and was pretty sure his sentiments were reciprocated, he was still trying to figure out where Nico's boundaries laid. He picked the orange out of his lap and handed Nico half of what was left: a whopping three slices. Will popped two of his slices in his mouth. They were perfectly ripe.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, taking the time to enjoy the feel of the sun on their skin. Or at least Will was; Nico still seemed to be deep in thought. Out of the corner of his eye, Will observed how Nico had grown over the last year. When he'd arrived at Camp during the battle, the kid had barely been more than a skeleton, with a body that was hardly there. Now, after a year around people and without any shadow travel (or so Will hoped,) Nico was finally starting to look like a healthy 15 year old guy. His skin was acquiring its natural olive glow once more, and his eyes had more light to them--like a spark had ignited beyond his obsidian irises. He was gaining enough weight to almost be at a healthy body mass; his muscle weight was a key component to that factor. And for a split second, Will almost thought he saw the corner of Nico's lips twitch up into a reluctant half smile, but it was gone too quick for him to know for sure. 

"Are you staring at me?" Nico finally broke the silence. His tone wasn't accusing, simply questioning.

Will looked away and back up at the sky. "No, I was just thinking," he responded as he popped the last piece of orange into his mouth.

"About?" Nico took a bite of his first of the three orange slices. It was nice to see him eating. 

Will finished chewing and swallowed before answering. "About how that orange would have been so much better if it were a banana."

Laughter broke out from within the infirmary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boom Will  
> boom Nico  
> boom dick jokes 
> 
> anyway if you have any comments feel free to post. We have a direction we are already planning to take this but we would love to hear your guy's ideas or answer your question. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also don't expect all updates to be this quick. They will most likely be verry irregular.
> 
> p.s. Co-written with mah friend Maddy.
> 
> .


	3. Souri

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to know the lucky girl.  
> New perspectives and new character mixed in with the old.  
> Also Chiron and Annabeth scheme.

After Souri left the Hades cabin she made her way over to her next lesson; battle strategy. It was only her second time attending the class but if it went anyway all the others went then she would have nothing to worry about. For someone who had only been at Camp Half-Blood for only two weeks she had settled in quite nicely. 

Despite how many times Nico took it upon himself to avoid her and tell her how annoying she was during their brief interactions, everyone else seams to at least tolerate her presence. She got along nicely with most of everyone but she hadn't exactly been adopted into any group yet.

That was unfortunately the fault of her godly parent: Tyche, the goddess of luck. Kids didn't like it if the kid you hung out with always won poker, always picked the ripest fruit, always won twenty bucks on the scratch-off. It was funny for the first few days; after a while, it got obnoxious.

It didn't help either that she had been kept sheltered by her father for the last 15 years. A quiet man who just barely escaped Iran before the revolution back in the 70s, he never took his luck for granted, nor his daughter. He'd been protective, partially due to his conservative upbringing, and partially because Tyche had explained it to him once Souri was delivered on his doorstep wrapped in clouds. 

Tyche had told him about the wars, too. About how the Olympians had had it good for too long, about how she was revolting. Souri's dad forbade her from going to Camp Half Blood, even when she learned about it. It wasn't until this year, when the dust had settled from the war against Gaia, that her father relented, explained everything, and dropped her off at the foot of the hill for the first day of camp. 

She'd missed two entire wars. She was lucky that way.

As her shoes fell on pavement, Souri looked up and realized she had strayed off course and found herself at the arena. It looked like the self defense class had just started. Though the instructed was technically a Satyr, it was more common that you found Percy Jackson teaching the class while Professer Bloombark ate the broken pile of armor, shields, and swords. 

Souri watched him go over to one of the younger camper and fix his stance. She had yet to have a conversation with him and she hoped it would stay that way. Everyone claimed he was nice and apparently he was some big shot hero but it was clear he was part of the "it" crowd if not the leader of them. Her experience told her to stay far away from those kinds of people. No matter how nice they may seem, they always have an ulterior motive. Money, favors, scratch-offs--those were the things they usually wanted from her.

She kicked the ground in annoyance and send a skittle of loose concrete into the grass. One of the pieces clanked off something shiny and came to an abrupt stop. Curious, she went over to investigate. Crouching down she got a better look at it. A beaded neckless with a gold medallion was firmly set in the ground caked in mud. She pulled it out and wiped the mud off. It looked like it was something made by someone in the arts and crafts class. Judging by the hammer engraved on the medallion she guess maybe it had been done by one of the Hephaestus kids. Shrugging she picked it up and put it in the breast pocket of her shirt. 

The trip from the stadium to the dining hall was a quick one, but even so she was already running late. No doubt she would receive a disapproving glare from Annabeth upon her arrival. 

"Sorry i'm late, I got stopped by a wood nymph who wanted-" Her lie was cut short by Drew, a daughter of Aphrodite that Souri had quickly acquainted. 

"She's not here yet." Drew's head was placed in her hand. A bored look plastered across her face with only a hint of agitation. Souri sat next to her.

"Lucky break for me I guess." Souri shrugged.

Her eyes caught glimpse of Patrick Demansey, a 12-year-old with a face full of freckles and curly strawberry blonde hair. It still baffled her that this little white boy was technically her half-brother. 

She didn't feel connected to any of her siblings, even when there were so few of them. There was Patrick, A native New Yorker, he was the one who spoke to Souri the most. Then there was also Jasper, a gangly kid of about 14 who didn't like being called he nor she. The were from Washington state and reportedly took a 7-hour flight to come out to camp. They liked Souri well enough, it seamed, but they spent most of their time with the Hephaestus kids. Fauna and Gloria were twins who lived in Canada. Souri supposed the three of them could have been good friends: she was Iranian, they were Syrian, she loved poker, they loved blackjack--problem was the the seven-year age difference.

And that was it. Those were the sole occupants of their cabin. And the only sibling in this boring class with her was busy trying to learn how to flirt with Aphrodite girls...and succeeding. Lucky.

"Annabeth isn't usually this late," Drew muttered from the palm of her hand. Souri perked up, turning her head to the girl beside her. "She's the queen of punctuality," the daughter of Aphrodite said louder, leaning back and shaking out her long glossy hair. "I figure if she doesn't show up in five minutes we kick it."

"Yeah, I figure too..." Souri glanced at her watch. Annabeth was ten minutes late at this point. For the few weeks Souri had known her, this had never happened. Annabeth was early for everything. Dinner, lineup, capture the flag, and especially battle strategy. Annabeth loved teaching battle strategy. So where was she?

As if to answer her proverbial question, Souri saw a small figure kicking up dust as they sprinted towards the dining hall. It was a young satyr who usually worked exclusively in the strawberry fields, but also enjoyed playing messenger. Seeing him canter over to the group wasn't surprising.

The satyr skidded to a halt in front of them, nearly buckling to his furry knees like the messenger at Marathon. After a few pants, he looked up at the small group of kids. 

"Annabeth can't make it to the lesson today," he wheezed, grabbing fistfuls of clover to shove in his mouth between words. "She had to go to an emerg---a meeting, with Chiron. You guys are to stay together and discuss what you've been learning. Annabeth says she was focusing on the element of surprise last time. Talk...talk about that."

The satyr staggered away, chewing fervently on a handful of grass. Souri turned to talk to Drew, but the girl was gone, like she had vanished in a cloud of smoke. She was hightailing it back to her cabin to take a beauty nap, probably.

"Whelp, since she's leaving," Souri sighed as she clambered to her feet. She started making her way towards the exit before she paused. It had been painfully obvious that the satyr had accidentally mentioned the meeting was an emergency one, but he wasn't supposed to.

Souri liked finding out things she wasn't supposed to.

She made her way over to Patrick, who had lost the attention of the Aphrodite girls once they had seen Drew leave.

"Hey kid," Souri said, hopping onto the table top and sitting with her feet on the benches.

"Sup, Soupy?" Her Half brother said distractedly. ("Soupy" was the result of a misheard introduction when Souri had arrived at camp the first day. She liked it.)

"Are you down to snoop with me?" She smirked. Some sibling bonding AND eavesdropping. Sounded like a good waste of time. 

Patrick turned his head to look straight at her. He raised an eyebrow, a small smile creeping onto his face. "That's a bit...Hermes of you, Soup," he sneered.

"Oh come on," Souri grinned, brushing her long hair back so it fell like a cape behind her. "I wanna know what's so emergency about this meeting. Plus, who's gonna catch us?"

A spark lit in Patrick's eyes, his smirk growing to a full gap toothed grin. "We're too lucky to get caught."

"Exactly," Souri said, cracking her knuckles with purpose. "Let's bounce."

When Patrick said they were too lucky to get caught he meant it quite literally. With their mother being the God of luck they didn't need much tact or skill in most of what they did. Grades came easy with minimum studying, she'd almost always find herself with exact change, and beginners luck was more of a constant in her life than something that happened every now and then. The way Souri saw it she could probably go her whole life without ever really needing to work hard to accomplish anything. That being said it's not like they didn't need to make an effort. If they were to just mossy on into the big house and call that spying it's not like they would be lucky enough to go unnoticed for longer than a minute or two.

As Souri and her brother made it over to the big house she wondered briefly if Annabeth asking her to get Nico this morning had anything to do with this emergency meeting. More likely than not it did. But if that was the case why didn't she just tell Souri that class was cancelled today? 

Patrick and Souri arrived at the big house and after a bit of scouting around the outside they found the room the meeting was being held in. Ducking down under the window as to not be seen Patrick reached up quite awkwardly with one hand an pushed up on the bottom ledge of the bottom window panel. Usually the windows in the big house creek to no end but this thing it didn't make a sound. Nice. She nodded approvingly at her younger brother as a flurry of voices came skewing out. 

The settled into a sit on the dirt under the window and listened. 

"Yes I do believe that's a good idea." Chiron could be heard saying. 

"It would relieve some of the anxiety of the romans arrival." There was a thick pause. "Definitely help stop some of the rumors that are sure to spring up about why they are here." 

Souri looked to Patrick in question. This conversation wasn't making sense to her and though Patrick, like the rest of the Tiche children, hadn't been here very long, he had been there longer than her. Much to her displeasure Patrick just shrugged and shook his head. He had no clue either. 

"Lets make the announcement at lunch. Give them a fair warning some of the romans are coming and we will be holding a capture the flag game to welcome them." Chiron offered. 

"That should do. At least hold of the barrage of questions that are sure to come until we have more answers. Should I gather the rest of the seven? I think we should all discuss this. Different perspectives could help up toss up some new ideas." Annabeth continued.

"Not just yet, let them enjoy the day. Tomorrow morning we can have a meeting. Sit down with Rayna" Souri sat up straighter when she heard Rayna's name. "and the rest of the romans to discuss this." Chiron decided. His voice was melancholic but held the of a final decision. 

"They won't be happy we waited to tell them." Annabeth protested. "But I suppose you are right. It will be hard to keep from Percy once he finds out I didn't show up to class." Her voice became more light hearted as she mentioned her boyfriend. 

That is when Souri lost interest in the conversation and lightly smacked Patrick on the chest. He looked at her and she cocked her head to the side signaling that she was done and wanted to leave. He nodded and they both crawled out from under the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever. we have no excuse. lazyness and lack of motivation. but the new book opened our imaginations again. Does not lead into The Trials Of Apollo.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: get pumped 
> 
> p.s. co-authored by mah friend campsuperpark.tumblr.com


End file.
